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| I just started strength training. How many different exercises should you do for each muscle group (chest, back, etc) during a strength training session? |
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Date Of Posted |
07/11/2007 |
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| Come Out and Namaste! |
| A visit to Kripaul will allow you to get in touch with your inner yogi |
| Posted By: Mona Buehler |
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Kripalu is a place with zero stress. It’s remarkable how you can go from stress-central—New York City!—and a four-hour bus ride later come to a place that is charming, calming and filled with positive energy that any icky residue washes right off—long before you discover the giant whirlpool. That’s exactly how I felt when I visited the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health to check out what Self, More and Shape (among others) call “the country’s best yoga getaway.” It’s a divine getaway, indeed. Kripalu’s down-to-earth, humble whole-earth comforts nurture the mind, body and soul like no other yoga retreat and really makes you stop and think about what your core needs really are. Kripalu offers a wide-array of pursuits; from professional yoga training and comprehensive seminars to university internship exchanges and weekend escape packages. I tested out their most popular package, the R&R (Retreat and Renewal) Program, a fabulous option for anyone who wants to enjoy an active getaway and perhaps discover their inner yogi or yogini!
Located in the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts, this former Jesuit seminary turned yoga retreat center sits on 100+ acres of forest, meadows, gardens, private beaches, walking trails and more—the setting is gorgeous. If you are looking for indulgent, posh pampering you might be disappointed—this definitely isn’t a fancy spa or luxurious escape. At Kripalu, you live like a yogini, pure simple and clean. The accommodations are pleasant but unimpressive—rooms range from a standard single or double bed with private bath to semi-private with shared hall baths. If you’re on a budget or really want tap your inner yogi, you can opt for group, dormitory housing and relieve your college days—sans the keg parties, loud music, and junk food. Even if you’re used to creature comforts and aesthetic splendor, if you let it, the natural beauty oozing everywhere will make up for the more rustic aspects.
The community and family -like spirit is so strong and open at Kripalu, that only the front doors are locked at night and all guest rooms come without keys, which I discovered on check-in after getting picked up from the Kripalu shuttle in downtown Lenox. You can lock your room from the inside, so if you’re showering, dressing or otherwise desire privacy or security, you aren’t totally stuck. But if you’re uncomfortable keeping any valuables or effects unlocked, best leave them at home or in a locker. Being a crime-conscious New Yorker, the thought of leaving my stuff unguarded made me nervous and I carefully hid my computer under the bed and locked my door every time I spent time in my room. But the peace and trust level in the facility is so astounding that you quickly forget your qualms, and by the end of weekend I relaxed all over and didn’t worry about anything…
Friday: How you schedule your R&R weekend is totally up to yogini…you can do a lot or very little; there are programs available all day long, so you can easily cherry-pick activities according to mood, want and weather. I go the active route and immediately start things off with a moderate yoga class before dinner. Allison keeps us moving with regular downward dogs and plank poses and by six o’clock my body is limber, de-traveled and ready for grub. I immediately head to dining hall, casual and comfortable in yoga garb—Kripalu is down-to-earth inside and out and that means dressing up for dinner isn’t required ?. The dining hall is big and buzzing—just like college—but the food isn’t questionable and greasy so you don’t have to worry about the “Freshman 15.” Everything is whole and fresh—I sample chicken chasseur, whipped yams, broccoli with pine nuts, hazelnut roasted apple salad, and drink endless water. I’m impressed by the variety, presentation and two separate main lines—one vegan and one for vegetarians and flexitarians. The meat selections are light like the healthy foods, but limited to chicken or fish. Kripalu truly is set up to help you detox inside and out…in just a weekend you will eat better and be healthier because everything around you is that way.
After dinner I check out the Kripalu Welcome Orientation. Everyone sprawls out on the floor in a big program room and we enjoy an inspiring, slightly historical presentation on Kripalu. To wind down the evening, I hang out in the room and wait to see what the R&R Activity slated for the night is…something about the finding your soul and inner goddess. I’m totally unsure what exactly this is, but decide in the spirit of yoginifying and exploring myself and Kripalu, that I should check it out. Turns out to be a group singing class. I feel myself sweat and get a little pre-stage fright, but once we start the breathing exercises and practice, I feel more confident and find my long lost choir girl. The instructor is impressed with my vocal range and physical expression. I almost feel like I could try out for American Idol. Almost.
Saturday: I went to bed astonishingly early (10:45PM) particularly for a Friday night and briefly contemplated rising early for the 6:00AM sunrise yoga class, but let’s not get carried away here. Get up around 7:00AM and dine in silence as per Kripalu morning ritual…breakfasts are strictly quiet so that you can meditate and positively prepare your body for the day. The breakfast meal is simple, I eat steel cut oatmeal with pecans and blueberries and a little tomato cheese frittata. I enjoy the quiet contemplative energy and accept that coffee isn’t available and tell my body that it can do without. Next, the morning R&R Activity: Pole Hiking. Ruth Innis and Scott Harrington lead the expedition and soon we don snowshoes and traipse through the stunning snow-decked Berkshire landscape. Ruth gets our blood pumping and I soon ditch my jacket and forget that it’s sort of cold outside. Two hours later, energized and a little wet, I head back to the center in search of dry clothes and the rumored coffee for sale in the gift shop. Yes! If you need your java like me, you can buy a cup in the gift shop and skip the “healthy” teas and beverages only offered in the dining hall. I meander the premises. I find the cozy Sun Room and take note from others and curl up with a book until lunchtime.
The dining hall is no longer chapel-like at lunch. I’m hungry from my active morning and try everything: carrot ginger soup, spinach feta casserole, lentils and pumpkin, sautéed green beans, tahini cauliflower, pita chips, and cucumber tomato salad. Delicious. Next off to Healing Arts for my Ayurvedic Body Treatment. Ayurveda is a traditional Indian natural system of medicine—the oldest continuously practiced health-care system in the world (originated more than 5,000 years ago). My dosha imbalance questionnaire shows that my vata balance is off and my healing art therapist Erin Horning prepares a treatment designed to stimulate and aid in the removal of toxins as well as restore this internal balance. The hour and half session begins with a silk glove lympatheic massage followed by a warm Ayurvedic oil massage and a full-body herb clay mask. I’m in heaven. My body hasn’t received this much nurturing and deep cleaning since I was a newborn babe. Nakedness is recommended for maximum Ayurvedic benefits (you do get a sheet for privacy). If you are on the shyer side, do tell your practitioner and they will modify the treatment to your comfort zone. If you use self-tanner or shimmer lotions, shower before your treatment because the Ayurvedic oils remove all your toxins and trust me, you’ll definitely leave bronze streaks all over the sheets and towels. Yuck.
I go to bed astonishingly early again Saturday night. Ayurvedic treatment followed by vigorous yoga, more delicious food, and checking out the evening activities (Ubaka Hill and the ShapeShifters, a rockin multi-cultural, multi-instrumental tribal-like band) wore me out. I highly recommend hitting up the giant whirlpool or the sauna before hitting the hay, it is the perfect way to wind down from a yoga active day.
Sunday: I rise early again for my last Kripalu R&R day…though 6:00AM still isn’t going to happen. Enjoy another silent dining ritual and fortified breakfast, and then take my unscheduled morning to further explore Kripalu, check out the gift shop, grab a coffee and revisit my book and the comfy Sun Room. The noon Kripalu Yoga class is a vigorous one—I welcome the ongoing, long-held plank poses and chaturangas Danny has us do—better to keep the body active and energized now because I’ll be stuck on a bus later! I figure I should eat well and hit up the dining hall hard. The food is as über-healthy and delicious as ever: shining sun soup, miso ginger soup, baked potatoes, mushroom kuzu sauce, steamed broccoli with cheese sauce and fakin bacon bits, sour cream, Caesar salad, and yummy whole grain bread. I run into a couple women doctors from my pole hiking trip on Saturday and we sit together, eat and muse about Kripalu and why we came here: “I studied yoga for years, but I have been out of practice for a while” says Marianna Datseris from Greatneck, Long Island. “Kripalu has been a good kick start to incorporating regular yoga back into my life. And the activities are terrific—I loved pole hiking so much that I did it again the next day!” With that, Marianna gets up to meet up for her next R& R Activity, a guided Berkshire walk. I hang out with her friend Teresa Lazar and we venture out on our own Kripalu walk and attempt to snow slosh our way to the blanketed lakefront. The lake is frozen solid and though we heard from Marianna how the pole hikers tried a new route this time and actually trekked across the lake, we only get a few feet in. “I came to Kripalu to get away and study yoga, not fall in a lake,” I quip. Theresa laughs and makes her way back to safety. I wonder if this is even the lake at all and dig my foot in the snow trying to find frozen proof. Everything is snow drenched and we might still be on the shore or a nearby field. Hmm…interesting way to wrap up a yogini weekend.
One of the first things someone told me when I moved to this non-stop city was to survive in New York; you have to leave whenever you can. Whether you’re a city slicker or small towner, if you want a healthy and compassionate escape, Kripalu is worth visiting and will change your life. You can take one yoga class or totally immerse yourself, regardless you’ll be pleasantly steeped in wholesome, natural beauty and you’ll learn how to tap your spiritual side, both on and off the mat.
For more information about Kripalu, please call 1-800-741-7353.
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